Book 1 Description

Yo and Carol intrigue one another. Yo finds his American mentor elegant, mature, beautiful, and wise. Carol finds her Chinese protege intelligent and utterly fascinating. Yo is an honorable man. That attracts Carol most of all.​

Western influence is expanding rapidly in China, and Yo is a splendid amalgamation of that which is traditional in China and that which is ultramodern. He is tall, handsome, a born leader, and a rapper with a mysterious side. Over the New Year holiday the two visit Yo’s scientist father at his Grassland Research Institute in Inner Mongolia. On the way back to Beijing, they become stranded on a train in a blizzard.

Carol wants what is best for Yo. She believes she is the right woman for him now. But his relatives think differently. They introduce him to one Chinese woman after another, pressuring him to marry soon and produce the one baby allowed by China’s one-child policy.

Wen Wen is Carol’s closest lady friend in China. She is a perky, petite, porcelain-faced China doll. She is also a little fashion princess – and both a shopaholic and workaholic. Wen Wen has worn high heels since the tender age of sixteen. Her feet are deformed as a result – a modern form of foot binding.

Yo is a Chinese teacher and Carol’s interpreter and teaching assistant at Fanzhidu School in Beijing. The two strike up a “best friend” relationship and might well become lovers, but traditional Chinese culture and their age difference pose obstacles.

​ ​"Would I have touched toe in China had I foreseen being stranded on a train – in a blizzard – on the grassland of Inner Mongolia? Absolutely! Why? Because I was trapped with the mostintriguing man in China."

An American college professor falls in love with her Chinese colleague, with her students and their rich culture, and with nearly every man, woman, and child in Beijing. The Dragon swallowed her whole. This book is about hearts – Chinese hearts touching Carol's heart, and her heart touching theirs. It focuses on many aspects of love and exploits in Beijing and the grassland of Inner Mongolia.

Yo treats Carol like an empress – and she loves it. ​

Wen Wen is embarrassed to be thirty years old and still single in China. Her parents pressure her – their only child – to marry. They want a grandbaby – preferably a boy grandbaby. Wen Wen wants a baby too, but she is too busy working or shopping to meet a marriage prospect. Her uncle gives a woman an expensive pearl necklace to make an introduction. Dragon Hearts: Eagle in China is Book 2 in the Dragon Hearts Series.

"Dragon Hearts: Love in China" is the author's true and very personal story. It is the first in a series of books about her life in China from 2009 through 2013. The book reveals her experiences and impressions as a college professor teaching Chinese undergraduate and graduate students in Beijing.​ Her open heart wins their love and trust. They call her dear teacher – dear friend – and cultural ambassador.